Thursday, January 23, 2014

Survey, Dating, Scout, and Stress...Just Another Day

If you read yesterday's blog, I posted a survey. It was really meant to be an attempt at being funny, but I'm not sure just how funny it really was. I admit to being very tired as I typed it out, and it may have been a poor attempt at humor. Thank you for indulging me, and for those that took the time to take the survey and answer the questions, thank you. The information you provided will go a long way towards helping me figure out who is reading this blog and why.

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Nothing new to report on the dating front. I'm still waiting for that one woman to jump out of the pack and make an impression on me, or for any I've contacted to write back, or...well, something. I go through this every six months or so, and it becomes the same game each time. I lose more and more of my nerve to date when I got through this. It's disappointing in some ways, and it does affect my own confidence in myself, to some degree, to the point that I become too intimidated to contact some of these women who really seem to know what they want, to the exclusion of anyone else. I understand that they probably get flooded with unwanted attention from guys who absolutely do not meet their criteria, but sometimes they scare away guys who may come close, but due to the way the write their profile, I'm not sure I'd even want to try.

I went on a date a few years ago with a girl on a dating site where the young lady went on a rant about how every guy she went out with ended up not being her type. I looked over her profile and she had set no criteria for the type of guy she wanted to date. It was, pretty much, if you've got a pulse and hair, you're good to go. But that wasn't good enough for her once she got you out on a date. She never told me that I didn't fit her criteria, but I didn't go on a second date with her.

It's true that you need to really specify what kind of person you're looking for on these sites. It makes finding someone a bit easier. But there are still those people who truly believe they fit that criteria when they don't, and test the water anyway. So I guess it's okay to be picky in your profile write ups. And then, if you get past the "bouncer" at the door, maybe you'll really make a connection.

And maybe I'll win the next PowerBall lottery without buying a ticket.

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Faithful Pup Scout returned home this morning after almost a week with my parents. I really missed her. I don't like to admit that to loudly. Scout is a cute little 10-pound white ball of fur of Maltese pup, and she is hardly the epitome of a manly dog. I always tell people she's my wife's dog, which is true. Teresa wanted a Maltese after meeting my Aunt's two Maltese pups before we got married, and after we bought our first home, we brought Scout home. Teresa died a little over two years later, and Scout became MY dog. And she loves me, just as much as I love her. She's a comfort to me. She's getting up there in age, and she's having her issues. She doesn't get around very well, and she sleeps most of the time. But she has her routines and she definitely is happier here at home than when she's elsewhere. Though she is content to be at my parent's, she tends to mope and act sad when she's with them. Then she goes nuts when she sees me after we've been apart for awhile. She was noticeably happy to be home today. And I was happy to have her.

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I used to enjoy my Fridays at work, but tomorrow is just another in a string of stressful week ending days at the office. I don't like to go into details about my job here on the blog, but I will say that my level of responsibility has greatly increased in recent days, and some of the issues I'm dealing with have taken me way out of my comfort zone. That said, tomorrow I have to lead a large group of employees through a planning session that I have very little knowledge about, and I will be put on the spot. That's never easy, and being the introvert that I am, I'm not looking forward to it. So I've spent the afternoon worrying, which is stupid, I know, since there's nothing I can do about it right now. I keep trying to come up with ways I can get out of it that don't involve bodily harm to myself, or require me to lie, which I refuse to do ("My dog ate my homework" just won't cut it). So it looks like I'm on the hook. I hope the weekend provides relief.

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Favorite Quotations

Matthew 16:23 - "But he turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.'"

Isaiah 41:10 - "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."

1 Peter 5:10 - "And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast."

1 Thessalonians 4:13 - "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope."

Titus 2:7-8 - "In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us."

John 15:13 - "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."

Joshua 24:15 - "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

James 1:2-4 - "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Philippians 4:8 - "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things."

Luke 2:14 - "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

"Don't judge a man by where he is, because you don't know how far he has come." - C.S. Lewis

"Be courteous to all, but intimate with few, and let those few be well tried before you give them your confidence." - George Washington

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

"We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them." - Albert Einstein

"You don't lead by hitting people over the head -- that's assault, not leadership." -- Dwight D. Eisenhower

"The future starts today, not tomorrow." -- Pope John Paul II

"No man is a failure who has friends." - Clarence the Angel, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE

"Please watch out for each other and love and forgive everybody. It's a good life; enjoy it." - Jim Henson